Sam Jay

Sam Jay has done it all: She's a great stand-up, a prized TV writer (including for "Saturday Night Live"), a sitcom star ("Bust Down") and a talk show host ("Pause with Sam Jay.") You can see her specials on Comedy Central, Netflix (including the roast of Tom Brady) and HBO. Originally from Boston, comedy has taken her around the world -- and now it's bringing her back to DC to headline our main showroom for a fourth time.

Instagram: @samjaycomic

All sales are final. Refunds and exchanges are offered only when a show is canceled or rescheduled.

Admission Policies

• Patrons must be 18 or older to attend events or classes at the DC Improv. Any exceptions are clearly noted in the event descriptions.
• There is a two-item minimum per customer. This can be any combination of food items or beverages. Bottled water and soft drinks count as items. (The two-item minimum does not apply to comedy classes.)
• Coupons or passes for free admission cannot be used for a show listed as a "special event."

Seating Policies

• Matinees, the first show of any evening in our main showroom and all shows in our lounge showroom are seated by time of arrival. The earlier you arrive, the more options you'll have. Please note that the size of your party can affect what options are available to you, as certain tables and areas are designated for larger parties.
• "Late shows" in the main showroom have assigned seating. Assignments are made in order of ticket purchase. Generally speaking, the earlier you buy tickets, the closer you will be to the stage.
• If tickets are designated as being at a "reserved table," your party will have a table to itself. For general admission or VIP tickets, if your party does not fill an entire table, you may be sharing a table with other patrons.

Stand-up comic and Emmy-nominated writer Sam Jay is best known as the Host and Executive Producer of HBO’s weekly late-night series Pause with Sam Jay. She also co-created and co-starred on the Peacock series Bust Down, with Langston Kerman, Jak Knight, and Chris Redd. She is a two-time Emmy nominee and WGA award nominee for her writing on Saturday Night Live. Sam’s first HBO special, Sam Jay: Salute Me Or Shoot Me, is now available to stream. Sam’s solo show We The People, just wrapped a hugely successful run at Edinburgh Fringe Fest in which the show was nominated for Best Comedy Show, and won The Uprise Award, which recognizes shows that dare to provoke, disrupt and reframe discussions.

Sam was a standout on the dais at Netflix’s The Roast of Tom Brady. In 2018, she wrote for The 70th Primetime Emmy Awards and the MTV Movie & TV Awards, and in 2020 she wrote for the BET Awards. Sam was recently featured both on and off camera as the “Voice of God” announcer at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards on NBC. In 2023, Sam recorded a set as part of Netflix’s Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration, along with Margaret Cho, Sandra Bernhard, Billy Eichner, and Eddie Izzard—now streaming on Netflix. Sam was named as one of Variety’s 10 Comics to Watch in 2018, and a Comedy Central Comic to Watch in 2015, and in 2017 was selected for Just For Laughs: New Faces Showcase. She has performed on Netflix’s The Comedy Lineup, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!; and released her Comedy Central Presents half hour to rave reviews. Sam has performed internationally at comedy clubs and festivals including the Vodafone Dublin Comedy Festival, Bumbershoot Festival, 208 Comedy Festival, New York Comedy Festival, Portland’s Bridgetown Festival, The Laugh Your Asheville Off Comedy Festival, Boston’s Women In Comedy Festival, among others. Sam’s 2020 special, Sam Jay: 3 in the Morning, is now available to stream on Netflix.

Sam can currently be seen opposite Jonah Hill, Eddie Murphy, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus in the Kenya Barris-directed feature film, You People, now on Netflix. Sam’s other TV credits include her hosting role on Ricking Morty, the Rick and Morty post-show on Adult Swim. Additional TV credits include The Eric Andre Show; HBO Max’s That Damn Michael Che; MTV’s SafeWord; a recurring role on TV Land’s Nobodies; Starz’s Take My Wife, Comedy Central’s White Flight, Crank Yankers, The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail, and Broad City; and Viceland’s Party Legends and Flophouse.